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Dr Duygu Bektik (née Simsek)

Lecturer (Academic Professional Development)

About

I am a Lecturer in Academic Professional Development (APD) and I am leading the Research Career Development (RCD). RCD brings together professional development activities for the Open University's central academic & research staff at all stages of their careers. RCD also works in partnership with the Graduate School to continue to deliver the RCD Programme for Postgraduate Research Students as well. I am also an academic lead for the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and actively work to implement its seven principles. I am responsible to support reporting and monitoring of the Open University's plan as a whole and to demonstrate the University’s commitment to the Concordat principles.

My research interests currently lie primarily in the fields of learning analytics, particularly discourse-centric learning analytics, e-assessment, AI in education, the effectiveness of visualisations and visual analytics dashboards, successful integration of ICT into the teaching and learning process, and achieving gender equity in academia and empowering women in academia/STEM. I also co-run the openAIED which is a special interest group bringing together researchers across the Open University who are interested in the application of Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED).

Biography

Dr. Duygu Bektik is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University, UK, a role she has held since 2018. As the Academic Lead for Research Career Development, she oversees professional development activities for OU's research staff across all career stages. Dr. Bektik is also the co-founder and academic lead of the OpenAIED (Open University's AI in Education) special interest group, established in 2019. She has contributed to multiple projects exploring the use of generative AI in teaching and learning. Additionally, she co-chaired the FutureLearn microcredential HZFM882: Online Teaching: Evaluating and Improving Courses and is currently authoring a CPD course on generative AI for educators. Dr. Bektik also serves on the executive committee of ACM-W Europe as the Celebration Chair.

Dr. Bektik has over 15 years of experience in computer science, education, and instructional technologies. She earned her Ph.D. in Learning Analytics from the Knowledge Media Institute at The Open University, UK, where she focused on using writing analytics, specifically automated meta-discourse analysis in student writing, to support essay assessment practices. She also holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Computer and Instructional Technologies from Bilkent University, an MSc. in Software Engineering from the University of Southampton, and a teaching certificate for ICT in primary and secondary schools. Her teaching experience spans Turkey and the UK.

External Projects:

Dr. Bektik is a mixed-methods researcher experienced in interviews, focus groups, questionnaire design, and advanced statistical analyses such as regression and Jaccard analysis. Her project portfolio includes:

  1. TeSLA: Developed an adaptive trust e-assessment system for authenticating learners in online and blended learning environments.
  2. ABC Learning Gains (HEFCE-funded): A longitudinal study evaluating the scalability of the Affective-Behaviour-Cognition model in higher education.
  3. EVALUATE (Erasmus+ funded): Investigated educational interventions to develop digital and language competencies in future EU teachers.
  4. PKE (Police Knowledge Exchange): Explored barriers and enablers for knowledge-sharing within and across police forces.
  5. ADMIT: Focused on creating educational and ethical frameworks for integrating generative AI in higher education, addressing diversity, inclusion, academic integrity, and digital literacy.

Internal Projects:

Dr. Bektik has contributed to internal initiatives at the Open University, including:

  1. Single Component Assessment: Examined the impact of determining module assessment scores using an averaged approach versus threshold-based evaluation.
  2. PVC-RI Challenge: Led the three-phased project developing the Authoring Assistant, a GenAI tool for short course authoring, involving staff upskilling, iterative testing, and wider implementation.
  3. AIDA (Artificial Intelligent Digital Assistant): Collaborated with KMi to design an AI assistant for OpenLearn, exploring its potential to support student learning.

Publications

2024

Ullmann, Thomas; Edwards, Chris; Bektik, Duygu; Herodotou, Christothea and Whitelock, Denise. (). Towards generative AI for course content production: Expert reflections. European Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 26 (S1) pp. 20-34.
Bektik, Duygu; Ullmann, Thomas; Edwards, Chris and Herodotou, Christothea (). PVC-Challenges Response: AI for course content generation. Quality Enhancement and Innovation, The Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Ullmann, Thomas Daniel; Bektik, Duygu; Edwards, Chris; Herodotou, Christothea and Whitelock, Denise. (). Generative AI as your course materials writing assistant: Is it useful?. In: 47th Computer and Learning Research Group Annual Conference (CALRG), 3-5 Jul 2024, Milton Keynes, UK.
Bektik, Duygu; Ullmann, Thomas; Edwards, Chris; Herodotou, Christothea and Whitelock, Denise. (). AI-Powered Curricula: Unpacking the Potential and Progress of Generative Technologies in Education. In: EDEN 2024 Annual Conference, 16-18 Jun 2024, Graz, Austria.
Ullmann, Thomas; Bektik, Duygu; Edwards, Chris; Herodotou, Christothea and Whitelock, Denise. (). Teaching with Generative AI: moving forward with content creation. In: EDEN 2024 Annual Conference, 16-18 Jun 2024, Graz, Austria.
Tessarolo, Felipe; Edwards, Chris; Bektik, Duygu and Whitelock, Denise. (). Comparing practical use and perceptions of GenAI in higher education with current published insights. In: EDEN 2024 Research Workshop & PhD Schools’ Masterclass, 16-18 Oct 2024, Timisoara, Romania.

2023

Bektik, Duygu (). PVC-Challenges Response: The use of Artificial Intelligence in content authoring & curriculum production: A literature review. Quality Enhancement and Innovation, The Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.

2021

Adams, Anne; FitzGerald, Elizabeth; Sargent, Julia; Bektik, Duygu; Ismail, Nashwa; Bossu, Carina and Clough, Gill. (). The CPD2 Change Cycle: Enabling development for Online Higher Education. In: CALRG 2021 Online Conference, 15-16 Jun 2021, Online.

2019

FitzGerald, Elizabeth; Adams, Anne; Bektik, Duygu; Bossu, Carina; Clough, Gill; Ismail, Nashwa and Sargent, Julia. (). Tools and Technologies for Advancing Professional Development. In: CALRG Annual Conference 2019, 17-18 Jun 2019, The Open University, Milton Keynes.
Bektik, Duygu (). Issues and challenges for implementing writing analytics at higher education. In: Ifenthaler, Dirk; Mah, Dana-Kristin and Yau, Jane Yin-Kim eds. Utilizing Learning Analytics to Support Study Success Springer International Publishing, pp. 143-155.
Holmes, Wayne; Bektik, Duygu; Woolf, Beverly and Luckin, Rose. (). Ethics in AIED: Who cares?. In: 20th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED'19), 25-29 Jun 2019, Chicago.

2018

Bektik, Duygu. (). XIPIt: Updating the XIP Dashboard to Support Educators in Essay Marking at Higher Education. In: L@S 2018: Fifth (2018) ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale, 26-28 Jun 2018, London, UK.
Whitelock, Denise and Bektik, Duygu (). Progress and Challenges for Automated Scoring and Feedback Systems for Large-Scale Assessments. In: Voogt, J.; Knezek, G.; Christensen, R. and Lai, K. W. eds. Second Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education Springer International Handbooks of Education.
Holmes, Wayne; Bektik, Duygu; Whitelock, Denise and Woolf, Beverly. (). Ethics in AIED: Who cares?. In: 19th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED'18), 27-30 Jun 2018, London.

2017

Cross, Simon; Rogaten, Jekaterina; Bektik, Duygu; Whitelock, Denise and Rienties, Bart. (). How do students understand and interpret learning gains? Perspectives from in-depth interviews of UK distance learners. In: SRHE Conference, 6-8 Dec 2017, Newport, Wales, UK.
Bektik, Duygu; Cross, Simon; Holmes, Wayne; Aleksieva, Lyubka and Whitelock, Denise. (). A European pilot study of a modular assessment system designed to authenticate the authorship of online learners. In: CALRG Annual Conference 2017, 14-16 Jun 2017, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.

2016

Buckingham Shum, Simon; Knight, Simon; McNamara, Danielle; Allen, Laura; Bektik, Duygu and Crossley, Scott. (). Critical perspectives on writing analytics. In: LAK '16 Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge, ACM, New York, 481-483.

2015

Simsek, Duygu; Sandor, Agnes; Buckingham Shum, Simon; Ferguson, Rebecca; De Liddo, Anna and Whitelock, Denise. (). Correlations between automated rhetorical analysis and tutors’ grades on student essays. In: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Learning Analytics And Knowledge, ACM, 355-359.

2014

Simsek, Duygu. (). Learning Analytics for Scaffolding Academic Writing through Automatic Identification of Meta-discourse. In: 4th Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference Doctoral Consortium, 24-28 Mar 2014, Indianapolis, USA.
Simsek, Duygu; Buckingham Shum, Simon; De Liddo, Anna; Ferguson, Rebecca and Sándor, Ágnes. (). Visual analytics of academic writing. In: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Learning Analytics And Knowledge - LAK '14, 265-266.

2013

Taibi, Davide; Sandor, Agnes; Simsek, Duygu; Buckingham Shum, Simon; De Liddo, Anna and Ferguson, Rebecca. (). Visualizing the LAK/EDM literature using combined concept and rhetorical sentence extraction. In: Proceedings of the LAK Data Challenge, 3rd Int. Conf. on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK '13), 8-12 Apr 2013, Leuven, Belgium.
Simsek, Duygu; Buckingham Shum, Simon; Sandor, Agnes; De Liddo, Anna and Ferguson, Rebecca. (). XIP Dashboard: visual analytics from automated rhetorical parsing of scientific metadiscourse. In: 1st International Workshop on Discourse-Centric Learning Analytics, 8 Apr 2013, Leuven, Belgium.

2009

Altın, Rükiye; Bektik, Mustafa; Ekşioğlu, Nuray; Koray, Can; Canbek Öner, Ömer; Sadetaş, Merve; Şener, Hilal; Şimşek, Duygu; Ma, Ching-Chen; Price, Christine and Routh, Christopher R.. (). Use of Intuitive Tools to Enhance Student Learning and User Experience. In: ITiCSE '09 Proceedings of the 14th annual ACM SIGCSE conference on Innovation and technology in computer science education, 06-09 Jul 2009, Paris, France.
Altın, Rükiye; Bektik, Mustafa; Ekşioğlu, Nuray; Koray, Can; Öner, Ömer Canbek; Sadetaş, Merve; Şener, Hilal; Şimşek, Duygu; Ma, Ching-Chen; Price, Christine and Routh, Christopher. (). Working Across Time Zones in Cross-Cultural Student Teams. In: ITiCSE '09 Proceedings of the 14th annual ACM SIGCSE conference on Innovation and technology in computer science education, 06-09 Jul 2009, Paris, France.

Awards

As part of The Open University’s Open Science Laboratory project, received full PhD funding

by the Wolfson Foundation

Best demonstration award

at the Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference in 2014

Exceptional achievement award

at Bilkent University in 2011

Listed as high honour student each semester

at Bilkent University (2006-2010)

Received 100% merit scholarship towards the undergraduate and masters studies

from Bilkent University